April 2018

May 3rd 2018, London Local Council Elections

As part of the London Child Poverty Alliance we have created this manifesto for Local Authorities, we are promoting it with candidates across the capital right now. If you or your organisation is interested in registering voters and campaigning with us to make changes in your local area, please get in touch with Raquel Jesse: 4in10team@childrenengland.org.uk.

Government U-turn on housing benefit welcomed

BBC News 29 March 2018

Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey has announced the reversal of a 2014 policy which prevented people under the age of 21 automatically getting housing benefit. It was estimated that 10,000 young people would have been affected. More.

Schools and education staff are increasingly providing the services and essentials of daily life to stop families falling through the cracks

National Education Union, 2 April 2018

A snapshot survey of members of the National Education Union (NEU) reveals the extent to which poverty is damaging the educational opportunities for children from poor families. A staggering 87% of respondents say that poverty is having a significant impact on the learning of their pupils and students and 60% believe that the situation has worsened since 2015. The joint survey by the NEU and the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) also reveals the extent to which schools are stepping in to fill the gaps left by the cuts to statutory services and voluntary and community organisations. More.

Households below average income figures show rise in in work poverty

Office for National Statistics, 22 March 2018

Reductions in benefits and tax credits since 2015 mean that many more working households are falling into poverty. Two thirds of children in poverty are in working households. Almost half of children in lone parent families are now in poverty. The figures cover the year 2016 -2017 and so with further cuts in benefits to come, more families will be pushed into poverty. More.

Doubts over Homelessness Act within days of implementation

Housing 24, 4 April 2018

Within days of the Homelessness Act coming into law, doubts about any real difference it can make dominate debate over its future. Government has set aside £72 million for English councils over three years until 2020, but campaigners say this is too little to deal with the likely surge in cases as welfare ‘reform’ rolls out. Martin Tett, the housing spokesman for the Local Government Association, said councils coping with homeless children alone were having to house the equivalent of an average secondary school every month. More.

TUC finds that 1 in 7 children of public sector workers will be in poverty by the end of this financial year

TUC February 2018

1 in 7 children (550,000) with a parent working in the public sector will be living in poverty by the end of this financial year, according to new TUC analysis. The research shows that since 2010 an extra 150,000 children have been pushed below the breadline as a result of the government’s public sector pay restrictions and in-work benefit cuts. More.